A recent winter's night found me driving around like a shark circling prey, seeking a seemingly elusive parking spot in front of The Hook, an American-Italian restaurant in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown.

Fortunately, at least one of the spaces was occupied by someone picking up a takeout order, so I was able to park and head inside.

My dinner companion and I made our way past the lively bar area to the dining room at the back of the restaurant. Exposed brick walls framed tables set with black and tan linens.

As we perused the menu and that night's list of specials, we noshed on a welcome basket of bread with a tray of garlic, olives and cheese. The menu offers a nice variety of dishes, with antipasti options including clams, shrimp, bruschetta, mushrooms, wings and mozzarella.

Salads include several seafood choices as well as antipasto and chef or Caesar salads. The soup listing offers pasta fagioli, French onion soup and chicken soup, as well as referencing a soup of the day.

That night the soup of the day was soup pancotti, which incorporated pepperoni, beans, croutons and macaroni. My companion started with that, while I decided to try the chicken soup.

"Very tasty," my companion declared, of the soup.

I agreed mine was as well. It had a different twist on routine chicken soup, with lemon brightening the taste of the fresh ingredients.

All entrees are served with a tossed salad at The Hook. There are many different dishes involving chicken, veal, seafood and pasta, plus a separate section called "From the Grill." The grilled items feature New York strip steak, filet mignon, rib eye, swordfish, salmon and chicken, all served with potatoes and vegetables.

There also are plenty of pizzas on the menu, those with regular toppings and specialty and gourmet pizzas, too. The most expensive one listed is the Off the Hook Combination, $23 for a small one, $31 for the large; it features calamari, clams, shrimp and scallops on red or white sauce. But most pizzas fall into the $8.50 to $18 range.

Chef's specialties from the regular menu include beef tips, surf and turf, eggplant rollatini and eggplant parmigiana. These range from $13 to $29. Early bird specials, available from 4 to 7 p.m., vary in price from $7 to $30, with the latter being Thursday's dinner for two with a bottle of wine.

But it was the specials that grabbed our attention on this evening. My companion selected that night's early bird special, Cajun salmon over risotta. I chose the pasta special, cavatelli with sausage and broccoli.

My companion, who often prepares salmon at home, was very pleased with his choice, pronouncing it perfectly cooked. My entree was filling and delicious.

Splitting a dessert seemed the thing to do. The cannoli pie we shared was a wonderful finish to our dinner. Other dessert options include cheesecake and chocolate mousse.